Cecile Richards Announces Resignation From Planned Parenthood, But Says She’s ‘Proud’ of Her Work

WASHINGTON — Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards announced on Friday that she is resigning from her position with the abortion and contraception giant, but in no way recanted her work with the organization.

Rather, Richards praised Planned Parenthood and spoke glowingly about the 12 years that she had spent leading the sexually-centered business.

“Twelve years ago, I joined Planned Parenthood to fight for a world where every woman can live her best life, and together, we’ve built a movement to protect reproductive health,” she said in a video statement. “And I could not be prouder.”

“From my first moment at Planned Parenthood, I have been in awe of our brave doctors, clinicians, staff and volunteers who provide care to one in five American women,” Richards said. “And to all of you who count on Planned Parenthood, know that this organization will be here for you, no matter where you live, how much money you make, who you love or where you come from.”

She claimed that Planned Parenthood has been an integral part of the country and has helped to save lives as rates for unintended pregnancy and abortion have fallen in recent years.

“Planned Parenthood has been a part of the fabric of this country for 100 years, and thanks to you, it will be here for 100 more,” Richards remarked. “… Planned Parenthood has helped tens of millions take control of their health and their futures providing birth control, pap smears, breast exams, STI testing and treatment, and safe and legal abortion.”

“Today, America is at a 30-year low for unintended pregnancies, and historic lows for abortion and teen pregnancy. This is one of the most important public health success stories in America’s history, and it would not have been possible without the life-changing and life-saving work of Planned Parenthood,” she asserted.

Richards stated that it was an “honor” to be both a patient and president of Planned Parenthood, and advised that she will be a “lifelong supporter and champion” of the organization’s purposes.

She has not yet advised what her plans are going forward, or why she decided to leave, other than remarking in an email, “[T]he time has come for me to move on to my next chapter—and for new voices to take the lead at Planned Parenthood.”

The Center for Medical Progress (CMP), which has been one of the most prominent opponents of Planned Parenthood—and exposed the organization’s practice of transferring the body parts of aborted babies to for-profit biomedical companies—opined that Richards’ announcement could signal problems within the organization.

“After CMP’s revealing undercover videos of Planned Parenthood’s top abortion doctors and the damning findings of multiple Congressional probes, Richards’ departure shows that the old strategy is no longer working as Planned Parenthood faces federal criminal investigation for selling aborted baby hearts, lungs, livers, and brains,” said director David Daleiden. “Planned Parenthood’s new leadership should commit to full transparency with the Department of Justice and with the public, and to ending this taxpayer-funded criminal abortion enterprise once and for all.”

As previously reported, according to its annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 321,384 abortions during the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Government funding was the largest source of revenue for the organization, as it received over $543 million in the year alone, down slightly from $554 million in 2015-2016. $532 million came from private contributions and grants. With all the sources of income combined, Planned Parenthood generated over $1.45 billion in revenue throughout the fiscal year.

And despite its expenditures, which included $75 million to “strengthen and secure Planned Parenthood,” $47 million for sexual education, and $40 million on public policy, the abortion giant still garnered a $98.5 million dollar profit, labeled as “excess of revenue,” up from $77 million the year prior and $58 million in 2014.

As previously reported, Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, who was a staunch advocate of eugenics, made a correlation between birth control and the purification of the races, referring to those with disabilities as being “morons,” “idiots” and “imbeciles.”

“Birth control itself, often denounced as a violation of natural law, is nothing more or less than the facilitation of the process of weeding out the unfit, of preventing the birth of defectives or of those who will become defectives,” she wrote in “Woman and the New Race.” “If we are to make racial progress, this development of womanhood must precede motherhood in every individual woman.”

“The emergency problem of segregation and sterilization must be faced immediately,” Sanger also contended in her publication “The Pivot of Civilization.” “Every feeble-minded girl or woman of the hereditary type, especially of the moron class, should be segregated during the reproductive period. Otherwise, she is almost certain to bear imbecile children, who in turn are just as certain to breed other defectives.”